dustin rhodes – Between The Ropeshttp://www.betweentheropes.com
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3232Accentuate the Positives in Wrestling – June 20, 2015http://www.betweentheropes.com/2015/06/20/accentuate-the-positives-in-wrestling-june-20-2015/
http://www.betweentheropes.com/2015/06/20/accentuate-the-positives-in-wrestling-june-20-2015/#respondSat, 20 Jun 2015 12:11:47 +0000http://www.betweentheropes.com/?p=19303It’s easy to get bogged down in the negativity that exists online when it comes to the world of professional wrestling. Let’s put a pause on the bad stuff, all the complaints, criticisms, rants, and rundowns. Instead, let’s come up for a breath of fresh air, sift through the week that was, and accentuate the ...

]]>It’s easy to get bogged down in the negativity that exists online when it comes to the world of professional wrestling. Let’s put a pause on the bad stuff, all the complaints, criticisms, rants, and rundowns. Instead, let’s come up for a breath of fresh air, sift through the week that was, and accentuate the positives.

Here are your top 3 positives from the week that was:

1. Kevin Owens’ Continued Success

I’ve been thoroughly entertained by the continued push of Kevin Owens on the main event roster and I’m itching to see the inevitable rubber match between he and Cena. This past Monday on Raw, Owens’ push charged ahead as he powerbombed rapper Machine Gun Kelly off the stage after a performance. This speaks volumes for what WWE thinks of Owens, as putting him in a position like this was bound to get mainstream coverage (which it did). Also, WWE thinks highly of their guest stars so to have Ownes get physical with said star shows how much faith they have in Owens moving forward.

In addition to hurling MGK off the stage on Raw, Owens was also involved in 3 excellent matches on WWE television this week. The rematch with Cena at Money in the Bank was yet another instant classic and the post match beat down by Owens solidified himself as a main event level threat in my estimation.

Then, the next night, he had a fantastic match with Dolph Ziggler. This type of match is what WWE needs to showcase on Raw every week. I’m perfectly fine with “TV matches” on Raw, but I feel like having one “highlight” match like this each week would make Raw more buzz worthy and would make viewers want to keep tuning in week after week.

Owens went on from there to have a fun match with fellow ROH alum Cesaro on Smackdown. The two worked well together and I’d love to see Cesaro put in a position where these two men could work an extended program together as I feel their styles mesh well. Whether or not that happens, the fact that Owens has been allowed to shine in the ring so much this week is not only a good harbinger of things to come for his career, but also a big positive coming out of this week.

2. Brock Lesnar Returns

Brock Lesnar is back on our television screens and that can only be a positive for everybody. The way Brock has been booked has turned out to be one of the most successful things WWE has ever done, even if it was out of necessity rather than ingenuity. But one thing we know about necessity is that it’s the mother of invention and what WWE has invented is a mythos; an intetity known as the Beast Incarnate. Since my schtick is all about accentuating the positives, I figure I’ll take a minute to point out how many fans thought Brock’s “part-time” status was a bad thing. Many felt that he was taking a spot from someone who worked a full-time schedule, house shows and all. And yet, that negative attitude proved to be misguided, as the fact that Brock comes around once in a while as opposed to every Monday night at 8/7c has made him special.

I know the word “special” gets thrown around a lot in our world, but what Brock has managed to do among the broad fanbase of professional wrestling can only be summed up in that word, special, because he’s managed to make everyone do the one thing that every pro wrestler needs to do; he has made them all Believe. As a certified high school English teacher I know the word Believe shouldn’t be capitalized, normally, but in the world of pro wrestling that word carries with it an almost holy weight. No different than Good Friday, Ramadan, or other religious verbiage, the word Believe is sacred in the wrestling world because without that one word you really don’t have anything. The fans look at Brock Lesnar as a beast, as unstoppable, as someone who can simply show up, eat, sleep, conquer, repeat as much as he wants because they Believe in him. And it’s all because of his booking. There’s a reason fans don’t Believe in Big Show as a legitimate giant, because he’s there every week.

And now that Brock is back, we get to see him not only once again in the title picture, but we get to see him as a presumed/defacto babyface for the first time in over a decade and we get to see him with “The Future” of the WWE, Seth Rollins. I think this is a perfect opportunity for Rollins to establish himself as a true main eventer. Not only will the match at Battleground provide the opportunity for Rollins to shine inside the ring, but leading up to the event, he gets a chance to hold his own while sharing the spotlight with Lesnar… and Paul Heyman.

Of course, I’d be remissed if I didn’t mention how nice it is to see Heyman back on TV. Though he didn’t talk this past Monday, his podcast interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin at the first of the month was enough to make me excited about seeing the best manager in pro wrestling back on TV. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a complete mark for Heyman. Heck, the title of this series, “Accentuate the Positives” was taken from a line Heyman said in the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD (“We had a very simple philosophy when it came to our wrestlers: accentuate the positives, hide the negatives”). So, it will be interesting to see what sort of interactions Heyman and Rollins have moving forward, as Rollins has proven to be good on the mic himself. Needless to say, everything about this program is a total positive!

3. Dusty Rhodes Tributes

I, like many other fans, was shocked to see last week, on my birthday actually, that The American Dream had passed away. I was unable to write an Accentuate the Positives article last week due to some prior commitments. Had I been able to, I would have had to write the whole article about the positives of Dusty and what he meant to pro wrestling and its fans. The only downside to that article would’ve been trying to whittle it down to just 3 things. As a fan, I loved everything about Dusty Rhodes. Over the last week or so, many others have expressed their love for Dusty as well (including this excellent segment on SportsCenter from Jay Harris and Robert Flores). WWE had several different video tributes to Dusty this past week including a WWE Network special following Raw this past Monday night.

I could go on and on adding to the sentiments already spoken by so many. I could talk about how extraordinary the man once called “The Common Man” was. I could talk about how inspiring his words were. About how he could make the fans do that all important thing, Believe, simply by speaking to them like he knew them. I could talk about the amazing in ring work, the flip flop and fly, the bionic elbow. I could talk about how he told us to “Get a dream, hold on to it, and reach for the sky” and he meant it. I could even talk about how much, in some way I can’t quite put my finger on, he always reminded me of my own father.

Reading about the loss of Dusty Rhodes immediately made me think of my dad. I count myself so fortunate to still have my dad with me. He’s undoubtedly the most important person in my life, as a mentor, a teacher, and my best friend. And it’s because of how much my dad means to me, that instead of speaking at length about how much Dusty meant to me, I’ll instead direct you to what his son Cody said about him, as so many family, friends, colleagues, and students came to pay their respects to Dream. I believe nothing means more to a man than what his children take away from his life. Cody’s words are touching, poignant, and most importantly inspired directly from the impression his father made on him and his life. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Runnels family as they continue to grieve.

]]>http://www.betweentheropes.com/2015/06/20/accentuate-the-positives-in-wrestling-june-20-2015/feed/0Dusty Rhodes To Appear Tommorow Night Monday Night Rawhttp://www.betweentheropes.com/2013/09/15/dusty-rhodes-appear-tommorow-night-monday-night-raw/
http://www.betweentheropes.com/2013/09/15/dusty-rhodes-appear-tommorow-night-monday-night-raw/#respondSun, 15 Sep 2013 16:18:11 +0000http://www.betweentheropes.com/?p=4364WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes will appear on WWE Monday Night Raw tomorrow night to confront McMahon family. It was on Raw almost two weeks ago that Cody Rhodes lost his job when he lost to WWE champion Randy Orton. Then last week, his brother Dustin Rhodes appeared on Raw and if he had ...

It was on Raw almost two weeks ago that Cody Rhodes lost his job when he lost to WWE champion Randy Orton. Then last week, his brother Dustin Rhodes appeared on Raw and if he had won against Orton, Cody Rhodes would get his job back. Orton defeated Dustin Rhoades in a good back and forth match.

Stephanie McMahon on Thursday extended an invitation to Dusty Rhodes to appear tomorrow night on Raw.

. @WWEDustyRhodes please accept this invitation to attend RAW this Monday in Cleveland. I have a business proposition for you. Thank you.